Repentance (Voyager episode)
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| Star Trek: VOY episode | |
| "Repentance" | |
 Iko (Jeff Kober) holds Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) hostage in sickbay. |
|
| Episode no. | Season 7, Episode 13 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 259 |
| Airdate | January 31, 2001 |
| Writer(s) | Mike Sussman, Robert Doherty |
| Director | Mike Vejar |
| Year | {{{year}}} |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "Lineage" |
| Next | "Prophecy" |
Repentance was the thirteenth episode broadcast of the seventh season of the TV series Star Trek: Voyager, first airing in the winter of 2001.
[edit] Plot summary
Voyager responds to a distress call, beaming all the people off a Nygean ship that's about to explode. Most are sent to one of Voyager's cargo bays, but one of them is sent to sickbay, where he takes Seven of Nine hostage.
It turns out that the ship Voyager rescued was carrying prisoners to a facility where they are scheduled to be executed. Since there is no death penalty in the Federation, the crew are uncomfortable with the situation, but the Prime Directive forbids them from interfering. They provide cages for the prisoners, who are treated brutally by the Nygean guards. Neelix insists that the prisoners must be fed and the Doctor insists they must receive proper medical care. Seven considers this a waste of resources, since the prisoners are going to be killed anyway, but the guards agree to allow the prisoners to have meals.
After a particularly brutal beating by a guard, Iko - one of the prisoners - is seriously wounded. He undergoes a medical procedure in which Borg nanoprobes are injected into his system; not only do the probes repair his injuries, they also seem to have restored the parts of his brain responsible for empathy, and he begins to feel remorse for his crime. At first, Iko wants to be executed for all he has done, but he becomes close to Seven, who sees in him a reflection for her own struggles for atonement for all she did as a Borg. Since under Nygean law, the victim's family decides the punishment for all crimes, Iko eventually appeals to his own victim's family for leniency. He tells them that he is cured, is sorry for what he has done, and that he is hoping to start a new life on Voyager, but the request is denied.
Meanwhile, Neelix becomes friendly with a prisoner named Yedik, who explains that his people are subjected to racial profiling. Yedik persuades Neelix to get a letter through to his brother, but this turns out to be a ruse - Yedik has hidden Voyager's coordinates inside the letter, and the ship is attacked by others of Yedik's race. Yedik has organized a prison break so that his co-conspirators can free him, but the plot is foiled by the Voyager crew. Neelix, who understands that he was being manipulated, turns his back on Yedik.
[edit] Notes
- This episode's allegorical look at the American prison system was somewhat controversial with Trek fans, with some accusing it of being too liberal and some accusing it of being too conservative: on the one hand, the Iko plotline establishes that Iko was a sick man, and with treatment he could have been a productive member of society. On the other hand, while Yedik's stories of racial profiling may be true, Yedik himself is revealed as a maniuplative creature, unworthy of Neelix's trust. (See http://scifi.about.com/blrepentance.htm for more about the episode's take of the prison system.)
[edit] Guest stars
- Jeff Kober as Iko
- Gregg Poland as Voyager security officer
- F.J. Rio as Joleg
- Tim de Zarn as Yedik
